Thread: 1st Time @ Garner State Park

Originally Posted by AmyAllyson

So, I am going to Garner State Park for the very first time on May 15-18th. I have only been camping one other time and that was at least 10 yrs ago.

I will be going with my friend (also a girl) and possibly my sister. We have a campsite with water for Fri & Sat and then a screened shelter for Sunday.

I don't really know what to bring, other than my tube and swimsuit, or what to expect. I found a map today that said Uvalde County is on fire ban - great. What do you eat!?!?!

I basically need a little crash course. We will be there before peak season which also means before anything is really open. We are staying in the New Garner area.
What to bring? How will we stay cool? Tips for activities? How safe for 2-3 girls alone? etc

Thanks ya'll!

You going to be fine and have a great time!

I haven't been to Garner for a few years but here goes..I am assuming your going to be in a tent, not a trailer.
If you have electric, bring a fan. It's a must in Texas.
Bring bug spray and sun screen.
As far as eating, if you have a gas grill you can cook anything you want. Either a camp stove or a small table top gas grill ( Walmart, around $20.00, plus a green canister of gas) .Sometimes they still allow charcoal even with the bans ( call the park and check) just no wood fires.

As far as activities..never leave home with out a deck of cards! ha ha There is lots to do at Garner. Walks, meet other people, just sit in the stream, eat, eat, eat ( no, thats us, sorry). Just hang out , visit with your buds and relax.

"What do you eat?" Anything, even with burn bans unless they are severe, you can sometimes do charcoal. So consider using a fire ring which they may have at the park Someone who has been to Garner does it have rings?)or buy the disposable charcoal unit at Waly world for under $10 (It a one time use unless you buy a bag of charcoal also)

So menu's can include anything you cook over a fire/charcoal/gas (but if you use a pan make sure its not your home teflon pan but one more suited for cooking over a flame. (the list for breakfast includes eggs, bacon, sasuage, pancakes,and much more) for lunch you can go cold with sandwiches and then dinner can be easy burgers (with correct pan) or anything you can put in a pan, you can boil water for spaggetti and heat sauce in the can (bring the opener thought and air it first) there are a number of great websites, this is one of the easiest for you to look at Breakfast Recipes - Chuckwagon Diner Outdoor Camping Recipes

and in addition to breakfast and other meals, it has tin foil meals if you want to skip dishes see the bottom of the page !

Speaking of eating, make sure to make a quick trip up to Leakey to check out the Leakey Feed Lot.

From Texas Monthly:
Co-owner Leonard Bludworth likes to joke, “If you put a plate of our food on top of your head, your tongue will knock your ear off trying to get to it.” That might be a stretch, but the food is darn good. Personal inspection confirmed the quality of the much-ballyhooed chicken-fry, and rumor has it that the fried shrimp plate is awesome too. With its weathered wood siding, peeling tin roof, Texas and American flags, and general junkyard atmosphere, the Feed Lot is fun, especially in the summer after tubing down the Rio Frio. 547 U.S. 83 S, 830-232-5919. Open Mon & Thur—Sat 11—2 & 5—9, Sun 11—2. Closed Tue & Wed.

I am fairly certain that the campsite has a fire ring. I don't know how to use a fire ring, but will research that a little. I am praying that someone makes a cancellation! Electricity would make everything so much easier, and less hot.

Any suggestions on keeping everything cold for such an extended period of time? I am not sure how long ice will stay cold in a cooler.

Thanks for the suggestions!

When you check in ask if they have any XX sites available. Or a shelter. Or whatever you would REALLY like to have. I have had sites reserved for NG for the past 2 summers now. When I get there, they have had sites in OG that I could reserve instead!

Try to get a spot in Persimmon Hill (new garner area). The spots there are more shaded. Buy a " 5 day" cooler. They can be found at Academy or Walmart. It will hold ice much longer than a regular one. Also, buy block ice or freeze your own with milk jugs. Keep the cooler in a shady area and covered. Dispose of your trash every night or the cridders will come see you and make a mess. And as campermom said, buy good water shoes. If your going to be using an air mattress, buy a cheap air pump or blower. It will air up the mattress much faster than your lungs. Have fun. My crew is arriving the following week. We can't wait!!

You are gonna have fun! There will be lots of places open in the area. When my DH and I went to the river as "young adults" we never really wanted to cook and usually didn't. There are several places in Leakey that are open all year. Bent Rim Grill is just out of Leakey, they are attached to the Frio Canyon Motorcycle Shop and they have good burgers. Nice people too. Also Vinney's Italian on the main drag. Not always friendly but pretty good food. I have friends that get breakfast tacos at Nena's about three times a week and they said those are good too. We have gone to Garner for almost 40 years in all kinds of weather and as silly as it sounds, don't forget blankets as it can get pretty chilly at night. Have a good time. We will be there a month after you and we are already counting off the days.

Originally Posted by 4everfrio

Try to get a spot in Persimmon Hill (new garner area). The spots there are more shaded. Buy a " 5 day" cooler. They can be found at Academy or Walmart. It will hold ice much longer than a regular one. Also, buy block ice or freeze your own with milk jugs. Keep the cooler in a shady area and covered. Dispose of your trash every night or the cridders will come see you and make a mess. And as campermom said, buy good water shoes. If your going to be using an air mattress, buy a cheap air pump or blower. It will air up the mattress much faster than your lungs. Have fun. My crew is arriving the following week. We can't wait!!

We have a 5 day cooler . There are great. Even keep it covered with a huge beach towel to help keep it extra insulated. Freeze some water bottles. They work like chunks of ice and when they thaw you have good cold water. But keep the bottles to use again and again!! Keep all stuff like lunch meat or cheese in a zip lock bag in the cooler or it will get all watered down when the ice melts. yucky!

Wish I was going now!!!

We camped at garner sp feb 28th and the burn ban was in effect. You can use the fire ring for cooking purposes--i asked the checkin office when we arrived to make sure it was ok.

we're going to garner sp this friday! i'm going to test out a portable ac unit i purchased for the tent. it's supposed to be mid-high 90's and humid, so hopefully it works well!

Yea, I called Garner today and they said that although Uvalde county has a burn ban, that the park will still allow the use of fire rings. I've never used a fire ring - so this should be interesting. I was able to get a screened shelter for Fri & Sun and I am hoping for someone to cancel so that I can have it for Saturday as well. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! I don't know what I will do without some sort of fan/AC. At least the river will be cold.

OMG! I was on the reservation website for Garner and found a screened shelter in Old Garner for my entire stay! Thank goodness! Otherwise, we were going to move to a different place each day - and that would have sucked.

Has anyone stayed in a screened shelter before? What exactly is inside and are there suggested items to bring? Do you sleep inside of the shelter or still sleep in a tent?

Anything helps! Garner in 5 days!

We have not been to Garner (yet) maybe this year, but the state parks generraly have two types of screen shelters.

Screened Shelters. Shelters are latchable from the inside and have a picnic table, 10 amp electric outlet, water, fire ring, and a lantern post. No Motor homes, Trailers, or Pop-ups allowed in the Shelter area. Tents are allowed outside the shelter.

Premium screened shelters with air conditioning. These shelters have 2 sets of bunk beds (1 set with twin beds and 1 set with 1 twin and 1 full.) this shelter also has a microwave, refrigerator, A/C, heat, and a lock on the door. Outside there is a picnic table, fire ring, water spigot, and a lantern hook. 8 people total allowed, maximum of 5 inside and 3 outside with tents. Customer must furnish all bed linens:

Hopefully the Garner crowd can tell you more.

The Garner page shows both but then says premium is location based (no ac) , it says Screen Shelter old Garner suspect you have that. Bring an airmatress or cot to sleep on